The steep valley walls approached the beetling of a gorge at times and trapped the sun’s heat creating a unique microclimate ideal for viticulture. The Ardennes and Hohes Venn to the west shielded the valley from rain providing the southern facing slopes with over 1300 hours of sunshine a year.  Slate rock lined the ground at the base of the vines, retaining the sun’s heat and insulating the grapes’ root structure.